Frustrated supporters booing in Tottenham vs Man Utd sees Theo Walcott fire back

Theo Walcott has leapt to the defence of Thomas Frank following Tottenham Hotspur's dramatic draw against Manchester United. The Dane was booed by Spurs supporters when he decided to substitute Xavi Simons towards the end of the clash.

The 22-year-old attacking midfielder, whom the Lilywhites signed from RB Leipzig for £52m in the summer, was brought off for Mathys Tel. Shortly after coming on, Simons' replacement netted an equaliser, smashing the ball past Senne Lammens from close range.

A few moments later, Wilson Odobert, who had come off the bench at half-time, teed up what Frank thought was the winner. Richarlison deflected the 20-year-old winger's curled strike past the United goalkeeper with a glancing header.

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Frank made numerous changes throughout the tie, with some proving more popular than others. But, ultimately, the Dane reinvigorated his side, and they were just seconds from clinching three points.

Speaking on Match of the Day on Saturday night, Walcott urged Tottenham fans to 'trust the process'. The former Arsenal forward said: "I don’t think the Tottenham fans felt he got the substitutions right when he made them, to be honest.

"Odobert was absolutely outstanding when he came on. A player who has to be able to take risks and play with that freedom and the energy, and that’s what you have to be able to do as a substitute; you need to be able to commit bodies.

"What I like about him, he likes to put the ball in when you have space, he likes to change his game – and this is what I talk about when I talk about not being predictable – when you give players, who are ball-carriers, in this amount of space, Manchester United start dropping."

Frank made numerous changes throughout the tie. He swapped Pedro Porro for Destiny Udogie midway through the second half, brought on Rodrigo Bentancur for Joao Palhinha, and substituted Kevin Danso for Cristian Romero.

Walcott added: "Udogie was fantastic as well, all three substitutions who came on all contributed. It just shows, trust the manager’s process.

"I think that’s one thing, as fans, when you watch games, you always feel frustrated in the moment, but they are there for a reason.

"Thomas Frank is a good manager, he knows exactly what he’s doing and he’s made the right decision."

Speaking to reporters at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after the game, Frank commented on his substitutions. The Lilywhites boss said: "Yeah, sometimes you are lucky but of course every single time I take a decision to sub a player it’s with one aim - to make the team win or get back into the game or try to see the game out.

"It’s with only one aim - to try to win the game. No doubt, Mathys did well, great goal, great involvement and in general I think Xavi played a fine game, positive, but also you need a bit of freshness."